Showing posts with label new horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new horror. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Weekend at the Box Office AND the new horror DVD's of the week

Sorry folks, there was some work being done at my place and I was cut off my computer. So, no posts over the last two days. I now have access again and I'm going to get caught up in one post... just watch.

Last weekend at the Box Office... no surprise, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" opened huge. $125Million huge, which blew the last one out of the water. This is the seventh film of the franchise and the franchise has now pulled in over $1.8Billion, which means it's closing in on Star Wars. The unprecedented thing that Warner Bros did was they took the last book of the series and split it into two films... this is the last book, remember. Apparently, "Twilight" is taking a page from their playbook with the last book of that franchise, as well. What does all this mean? It means that Warner Bros is going to be scrambling to find another franchise soon... and it also means that the gap between studio films and indies is just continuing to widen. More than ever, they're dependant on bankable franchises that bring in consistent money... not going to be taking chances on first time directors or spec scripts any time soon.

Now, on to the new DVD's this week. Truth of the matter is, cut out the double packs, rereleases and special DVDTee's... there's only three new movies and one of them is a 50 minute porn. I will mention these three film collections that are coming out because there's some good films in there and the prices are right - ranging from $8.99 to $10.99... and that's for multiple films! The first is a Blu-ray two pack of "Angel Heart" and "Johnny Handsome" , the next is a DVD four pack of "Dark Town", "Godsend", "Martin" and "Modern Vampires" and the last, and best, is a DVD four pack of "American Psycho", "Fall Time", "Confidence" and "Rain of Fire". Now, on to the new films. No trailers on our Youtube Page this week, as none of them were available, but you can click on the films titles to be taken to their Amazon Page where you can read more and/or buy the film.

I'm not really sure why they classified "Blues" as a horror, but it does sound like it could get violent. It's from Sundance Film Fest alum, Brandon Sonnier, and it's about two wannabe thugs that duck into a Blues bar and end up on an intense journey of self discovery... and then the situation explodes into violence. Even if you'll only watch horror, this is worth checking out because it's a one-room drama that has only a handful of actors. You want to make a low-budget film look good? Use that formula.

"Diary Of A Sex Offender" comes from director John Niflheim and is distributed by Independent Entertainment. It's a low-budget indie and it's about a sex offender who offends... sexually. The guy who did this whole sub-genre best was Shane Ryan, with the "Amateur Porn Star Killer" series and, quite frankly, I didn't get into that... and Ryan did full-on porn in his version. Anyhow, if you're in to the simulated rape scenes and all that, feel free to check it out.

"Vampire Sisters" costs $29.95, is only 50 minutes long and stars Anastasia Pierce and Arial X. If you're interested, Anastasia Pierce is an international fetish model, specializing in bondage, and Arial X is a porn star. So... I think you can guess what you're getting here. Surprisingly, I couldn't find the trailer online.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Our Halloween Picks and What's New In Horror This Week

It's the week before Halloween... well, really, it's just a few days before Halloween and it's your last chance to pick up some new horror and guess what? There's not really anything new to report... not that you would get it in time, but whatever. Either way, last week was good, but this week definitely leaves something to be desired. So, while you can pick up "Lake Placid 3", "The Bisbee Cannibal Club", "Lynch Mob" or "Eulogy for a Vampire" this week, I'm going to take the opportunity to suggest a few personal Halloween picks, just for you. Pick 'em up on Amazon by clicking on the title or just go rent them...

Let's start off with "Trick 'r Treat". It's an obvious choice and although it's probably not in the "classic" section or anything, it's definitely underrated and has been overlooked by everyone from audiences to the studio since it came out. Next up, personally, I think Kevin Tenney's "Night of the Demons" IS a classic and it does take place on Halloween - 10 teens end up at a party and awaken evil demonic forces. Next, let's not forget about the cult classic from Lucky Mckee, "May", where May tries to build a new friend out of parts from her other friends, which is awesome. It does have a large scene that takes place on Halloween... so it qualifies. "Ginger Snaps", the werewolf teen horror flick, is another little film that tends to get overlooked and it has a great scene that takes place on Halloween. You know, looking back, fans of "Twilight" that are looking for something a little more edgy and gory may like "Ginger Snaps". If you qualify, make sure you pick it up. Finally, I don't want to pick the original "Halloween", so I'll pick "Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myers"... I've got a soft spot for it, always liked it.

Now, I'll quickly go over the new releases of the week...

I'll admit, "Lake Placid 3" does have decent cover art, but considering that "Lake Placid 2", with John Schneider, was kinda shitty, I don't expect much here. A swarm of gigantic crocodiles terrorizes a secluded country lake...

"The Bisbee Cannibal Club" showed up on Amazon last week, but disappeared... now, it's back. And, like I said last week, I am pretty excited to check it out. I received a box of films from the distributor, Chemical Burn Entertainment and Reality Media, and this is the first to be released. I should be reporting back on a few of them soon.

"Lynch Mob" takes place in Lynchburg, Georgia and a century-old curse is condemning the citizens to a diet of human flesh. To quote the box art, "if you see one mafia, cannibal zombie horror film this year, make sure it's "Lynch Mob"."

It's definitely not going to be for everyone, as "Eulogy for a Vampire" is a gay horror, but if you're interested... it's about a young drifter that's found unconscious by a monastery, then seduces all the monks into joining his league of the undead.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New Horror Out on DVD this Week

Here we are, smack dab in the middle of October - horror's wheelhouse. Usually, this means that there's a lot of good horror coming out on DVD and a lot of good horror hitting the theaters. As for this week on DVD, it's not bad. In fact, it's great for low-budget and micro-budget horror. There's certainly a lot of rereleases and I don't really want to mention them, as I like to concentrate on the new stuff... especially when a lot of the new stuff is micro and low-budget. So, as usual, you can check out all the trailers on our Youtube Page and you can click on the films title and go to its Amazon page, where you can read more and/or buy the film.

Let's just start off with "Predators", as I'm very interested in what other people thought of it. Me, I wasn't terribly impressed. The acting was great, that wasn't a problem. I was ready to write off "The Pianist", Adrien Brody, before the film started, but... I bought him as a tough guy. Really, I bought all of the actors. What I didn't buy, was the concept. I get it, I get it... you wanted to tie it to the original. You know what, though? You didn't have to ram it down our throats. There's other ways. Not only that, there's so much suspension of disbelief needed to get through the plot and concept, I just wasn't buying the whole idea. Maybe I'm being too hard on it, I don't know. What did you think of it?

Okay, NOW we're talking! Based on the best-selling manga by Shungiku Uchida, it's the follow up to "Tokyo Gore Police" and "Machine Girl" - "Vampire Girl vs.Frankenstein Girl". Don't let the goofy title fool you, this film ups the ante on all the demented Asian hardcore hyper-violence that you've seen over the last few years. Just watch the trailer. Personally, I LOVE these films and I really wonder if this stuff could cater to North American audiences? Obviously there's a market for it, but I wonder if it could ever go a bit more mainstream? Hmmm... I doubt it.

Not too sure about this one... mostly in that I'm not sure if the "Lost Tribe" that's new this week on DVD is the same as "The Lost Tribe" that I found on Amazon and IMDB. In any case, this film MAY be about a a group of friends that get stranded on an uncharted island where they encounter an ancient tribe of humanoid creatures... and it may be about something else.

Well, if you're looking for a double whammy on Adrien Brody, you might as well pick up "Giallo". If you don't care to get an Adrien Brody double shot, you may just want to pick it up because it's directed by Italian horror master Dario Argento. If you don't care about Argento or Brody, maybe you just like giallo films... if so, it looks like Argento pulls out all the stops. Takes place in Italy? Check. There's a crime involved? Check. Eroticism? Check. Gore? Check. At the end of the day, it's Argento.... pay your respects and go check it out!

I haven't seen "Colin", but I've heard about it and it's a massive achievement for micro-cinema. It's from the UK and it was shot for something like a few thousand dollars. Maybe even a few hundred dollars. It's a zombie film, but it's got a great twist... the hero, Colin, is bitten by a zombie and he dies and returns from the dead... and the film follows him as he wanders through suburbia during the throes of a cadaverous apocalypse. Low-budget, first person film shot through the eyes of a zombie. I love it.

"Horno" - it's not a porno, it's a horno. Life imitates art after several sex craze, flesh eating zombies crash a film shoot about a zombie outbreak that's spread through sodomy. Yeah, let's go through that again because it's sort of awesome. A guy decides to make a film about zombies that ass-rape people... which turns the receivers of the ass-raping in to zombies THEN real zombies attack the film set. Sold.

Just in time for Halloween, it's a Christmas horror. It's the third film in the "Bikini Bloodbath" series, featuring the likes of Debbie Rochon, Lloyd Kaufman, Rachel Robbins, Monique Dupree and many more, and it's called "Bikini Bloodbath Christmas". You like low-budget horror? You like T&A? You like a bit of gore? Of course you do... check it out, the other two were awesome.

"Deadlands 2: Trapped" is the sequel to 2006's "Deadlands: The Rising". They're self financed zombie films from Gary Ugarek and he's currently in pre-production on a third film in the series, called "Deadlands III: The New World".

"The Bisbee Cannibal Club" was on Amazon this morning, now I can't find it... I'm actually quite excited to check it out because I just got a box of films from Chemical Burn Entertainment and Reality Films, the distributor, and I haven't started watching them yet... as this is the first to be released, this will be the first one I watch. I'll report back and I may even have an interview for you guys on this!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Horror Gets Beat Up By Facebook and A Great Week for Horror On DVD

There's no easy way to put it, horror got pummelled by Facebook over the weekend. A tough pill to swallow. I mean, it wasn't even a contest. Horror brought a good game, but just couldn't even muster a blip on the radar. Actually, who's kidding who? I take that back, horror really didn't bring a good game. Both "Case 39" and "Let Me In" were virtually ignored over the weekend, but I'm not sure where to lay blame. "Let Me In" is based on the unbelievably awesome Swedish film, "Let The Right One In", which came out in 2008. Judging from the trailer, "Let Me In" borrowed heavily from the original, as a lot of the shots and scenes looked identical. That's not to say that's good or bad, but why is the original an award winning film and the remake didn't do shit? Maybe North American audiences aren't ready for a vampire film that has to do with kids? Maybe it was marketed poorly - I mean, they really hyped up that it was from "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves and barely mentioned that it's based on an award winning horror film that rocked the world a few years back. The other horror film that came out was "Case 39", which even had a decent cast, including Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper. It also dealt with a creepy kid, as Renee Zellweger tries to save an abused kid from her parents, only to find out that the kid isn't so innocent. So, who knows? Maybe creepy kid horror is out... maybe it was never in? It does seem that all successful creepy kid horror films are underground films that breakout. "The Orphan" may be one of the most successful big budget creepy kid films in recent history, but she really wasn't a kid. Anyhow, it's a decent week for horror on DVD. As usual, you can check out all the trailers on our Youtube Page and you can click on the titles to be taken to their Amazon Page, where you can read more and/or buy the film.

Without question, the biggest release of the week is the remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", which comes out on both DVD and Blu-ray. Just a disclaimer - don't get me wrong, I love the classic 1985 original - I mean, who doesn't? I have Freddy posters, figures and a bust... all modelled after Robert Englund's version of Krueger. Having said that, this update isn't bad. In fact, it's pretty good. Jackie Earle Haley does a good Krueger and i think it's kinda cool to see an updated version. Really, it is. I'm starting to define my feelings on remakes a bit more, as I used to vehemently opposed to them. So, if it was a horror franchise that went ballistic on sequels, such as "Elm Street", "Friday the 13th", "Halloween" and "Hellraiser"... remakes can be good. It's like a reboot for the series. When they try to remake a stand-alone classic, no good. Like, "The Thing"... can't believe they're remaking that.

If you haven't heard of "Troll 2" or if have heard of it, but haven't seen it yet, get it and, hell... get it on Blu-ray. This week it's finally getting rereleased on both DVD and Blu-ray, something that a lot of people have been waiting for. Chances are, you've heard of the mayhem that surrounds this cult classic. Directed by Claudio Fragasso, under the pseudonym of Drake Floyd, and called "Troll 2" in an attempt to connect it to the 1986 film, "Troll", the film almost never saw the light of day. Why? Because it's terrible. It's so terrible that it's one of the best worst movies of all time... so, of course, there's a documentary, directed by Michael Stephenson, the child actor in the film, called "Best Worst Movie", which is all about the film and it's subsequent resurgence. Now, they're even talking about a sequel. What would it be called? "Troll II: Part II", of course. So, if you haven't seen the film that spawned the mayhem, do yourself a favor and check it out.

"Sisters", now available on Blu-ray, is based on Brian De Palma's classic film of the same name. It stars Cloe Sevigny as a reporter that witnesses a woman committing a bizarre murder, then decides to undertake her own investigation when the police fail to find any trace of the crime. Her investigation leads her to a mental asylum and the discovery of the woman's once-conjoined twin. To be honest, I've never seen the original, maybe I'll start there...

"The Farm" was actually quite tough to find any information on... only because there are so many films called "The Farm". That goes without mentioning three films called "Farm", then there's "Animal Farm", "The Last Farm", "The Lark Farm", "The Hill Farm" and various others. You know what? I know why... I have a few friends that live on farms and, without question, they are creepy places and a natural location for a horror film. This incarnation is an Irish film and it's about a shy guy that lives on a farm, when a young couple that's on the run from a vicious gang shows up. Farm boy falls for the young girl and you can take it from there... Maybe I'll do some research into farm horror. It could be an under served area of the market, now that I think about it...

"Yoga" is, unfortunately, a terrible title to do any sort of search on, as you'll get nothing but instructional videos. However, I really want to see it, as I think it's a great idea for a horror film and, as it's a Korean film, you know it's going to be messed up AND feature lots mangled bodies... and the themes revolve around vanity and striving for perfect beauty. God knows I love my Korean horror. I'm in on this one.

"Don't Look In The Cellar" looks awesome... it's a micro-cinema horror and it features friend of Dead Harvey, Randal Malone and is directed by Dennis Devine. Released by Fat Cat DVD, a subsidiary of Tempe Video, it's about a group of college kids that find an abandoned asylum on Halloween night... then, of course, you add a serial killer called Smiley and all hell breaks loose.

I've actually seen "Destined to be Ingested" and it's not bad. It is, obviously, a zombie film and it looks great, has some tongue in cheek humor, has some hot girls in it and a bit of gore. The only issue is the sound, which is all dubbed... and I'm not sure why they dubbed the whole film. In any case, you get over it pretty quick and it's really not about the dialogue, anyhow. Its worth seeing, for sure.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Resident Evil Takes The Box Office and Some Good, New Horror on DVD

Quite frankly, I've never really liked Milla Jovovich. Well, she wasn't bad in "Dazed and Confused", but everything from, and including, "The Fifth Element" on, sucked ass. I should mention that the ending of "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" was okay, but only because she burned at the stake. Anyhow, as a horror loyalist, of course I've seen all the "Resident Evil" films and, despite Jovovich's best attempts to steer me otherwise, I find them mildly entertaining. I mean, what's not to like? Zombies get slaughtered. Good enough. The fourth installment, "Resident Evil: Afterlife", was the only new film to come out this last weekend and it won the box office with ease... it was the highest grossing yet for the franchise, but was the least attended. Why's that, you ask? Because it was in 3D and 84% of the theater-goers paid the premium to see it in that format. This Friday, we get "Devil", which was written by another person that I've grown to loathe, M. Night Shyamalan. It's directed by someone else, Drew and John Erick Dowdle, which is great... but it's PG-13, which isn't so great. Anyhow, let's check out the new horror that's out on DVD this week. As usual, you can see the trailers for these films on our Youtube Page and you can click on the titles to be taken to their Amazon Page, where you can read more about them and/or buy them.

"Mad Ron's Prevues From Hell" is a classic horror movie compilation and it's hosted by ventriloquist Nick Pawlow and his zombie pal, Happy Goldsplatt. They drape a loose idea around the compilation, as they're entertaining a theater that's filled with Happy's zombie buddies, with the trailers being presented by a drooling, half-wit, cannibal projectionist named Mad Ron. In any case, it's definitely one for the horror enthusiast, as it goes through 47 classic horror trailers.

Holy crap, the trailer for "Necromentia" makes it my pick of the week, for sure. Directed by Pearry Teo, the acclaimed director of "The Gene Generation", the film has been called "Saw" meets "Hellraiser", but better than both... it appears to be filled with gore and erotic tortures, as three desperate men attempt to open the gates of hell and transcend the boundaries of death. Check out the trailer - I'll be picking this one up today.

Very rarely can Bill Cosby be tied to a horror film, but it can be done with "Within". Hanelle M. Culpepper is an award winning writer/director whose career was started after her first screenplay earned her admission into Bill and Camille Cosby's prestigious screenwriting program for African-American writers. The film was meant for the Family Network or something like that, but the trailer looks okay... if you're into PG-13 ghost stories.

"Bloodwood Cannibals" is a feature film that's based on the "Hunting the Unknown" web series. "Hunting the Unknown" is, or was, a web series that's based around the exploits of Nigel Thorne, an adventurer that leads a crew to search for mythical creatures, such as the Yeti, Chupacabra or The Mothman. There's a group of characters, including a producer, an associate producer, a videographer, a sound operator and an editor. In "Bloodwood", they come to find a monster in the Bloodwood Forest, but end up fighting a group of feral cannibals. If you get the DVD, it includes the entire "Hunting the Unknown" web series.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Weekend at the Box Office, What to Look Forward To and the week in Horror on DVD

Is the Labor Day long weekend traditionally bad for the box office? You wouldn't think it is, but "The American", which looks very uninspired and average to me, won the weekend with, what I would think, is a soft $16.4Million. However, that's the fourth highest grossing Labor Day launch EVER. So, my two questions are... how could that win the weekend and, is it me, or does Clooney just seem to be mailing his films in? "The American" looks like something that I'd watch on a plane, if I really couldn't get to sleep. As long as they keep making money, I guess he'll keep making them... "Machete" managed to beat out "The American" on Friday, but it sunk like a rock and fell to second, grossing $11.4Million. That's less than the film that spawned it, which was the box office disaster, "Grindhouse". Tame opening for Rodriguez, but I'm thinking that this was more a labor of love than a box office, money grab. "The Last Exorcism" took a huge stumble and made under $9Million, coming in 4th. The other new release was "Going The Distance", with Justin Long and Drew Barrymore... and it was an unmitigated disaster, grossing a paltry $6.9Million. Some good news, horror storms back to the big screen over the next few weeks. This Friday, "Resident Evil: Afterlife (In 3D)"; the next Friday, "Devil"; the Friday after that, in limited release, "Buried"... and that takes you through September. Now, let's look at the week in horror on DVD. As usual, you can go to our Youtube Page and see all the trailers (well, in this week's case, two of the trailers) and you can click on the titles to be taken to their Amazon Page, where you can read more and/or buy them.

"Ghosts Don't Exist" is from writer/director Eric Espejo and they're selling it a great price, $6.99. The film is low-budget by Hollywood standards, $250K, but definitely looks and feels like it has a bigger budget than that. It's about a ghost hunter that's looking to retire from his paranormal TV show, so he looks for a phenomenal show to wrap it all up. What he ends up taking on is a bizarre case that quickly turns personal and deadly.

I'm not sure it's a horror, but how can I not mention "Absolution", staring Mario Lopez as the hero, Jaime Pressly and Richard Grieco as the villain, which is about a post-apocalyptic earth that's been destroyed by an asteroid? Greico is the tyrannical leader of New America, a military colony in the Arctic, and Lopez is sent in by the authorities... whoever they may be. I'm not sure how Jaime Pressly fits in. Once again, they're selling it for $6.99. With plot, it just may be worth it.

Now, jumping in to the Dead Harvey realm, we have "Braincell", which was written and directed by Alex Birrell. It had a budget of approximately $20,000 and it's about a wave of violence at a university in Liverpool that's due to the strange experiments of Dr. Joseph Cornwall. His estranged niece heads to the US to live with her uncle, then uncovers a horrifying mystery. There's lots of familiar faces here, including Raine Brown, Billy Garberina and Joe Zaso.

I know nothing more about "Convict 762" than the product description, but it's enough to make me mention it. An all-female crew in a spaceship is forced to stop and re-fuel at a penal colony, where they run into a terrified captain that's rambling on about convict #762... who managed to slaughter everyone and is looking for a way off the planet.

Lastly, I need to mention "The 16-Film Midnight Horror Collection" that Echo Bridge is releasing for $39.99. It has 16 lower budget horror films and, having seen most them, I'm telling you this is a good deal. From "The Craving" to "I Am Omega" to "Secrets of the Clown" to "Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned", there's a lot of good entertainment in here... 1,453 minutes of entertainment.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Another Weak Weekend, Especially for "Splice"

So, it was another weak weekend at the box office. "Shrek Forever After" spent a third weekend in the lead, but it was really due to the fact that "Get Him to the Greek", "Killers", "Marmaduke" and "Splice" all underperformed. I guess that's not entirely fair, "Killers" and "Marmaduke" were disasters, but "Get Him to the Greek" did fairly well, considering it stars Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. It did come in second with a respectable $17.5Million take. "Killers" came in third and stars Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl and cost $75Million. "Killers" got terrible reviews, too. Whatever. The disappointed for me was how poorly "Splice" did. Reviews were great, it stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley and it was the only horror to get a wide release... but it only pulled in $7.5Million and came in 8th. Shame. Personally, I thought the trailers were a little weak and far too reminiscent of "Species", but still intriguing. They really could've done a better job on the marketing. All I can say is, hopefully it goes on to a good life on DVD and VOD. Anyhow, moving on to the horror that's coming out on DVD this week... you can check out the trailers on our Youtube Page and you can click on the titles to be taken to their page on Amazon, where you can buy them and/or read more about them.

I don't know if "Shutter Island" is considered a horror, but it has elements of horror and it's a Scorsese film. I like both, so I'm going to talk about it. I won't let the cat of the bag, plot-wise, but it's about U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, played by DiCaprio, who is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Mental Hospital. The film is based on a best selling novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane and, believe it or not, the film gave both Scorsese and DiCaprio their best box office opening to date. Crazy, huh? It remained #1 for five weeks straight, too, and is now Scorsese's highest grossing film of all time.

"Bloodlock" is a low-budget horror from filmmaker William Victor Schotten. It was his second film, after "Dead Life". He's since made "Sabbath" and "The Brass Ring". It's about a couple that buys a fixer upper house in a small town and discovers a secret room in the basement, locked up behind a heavy, titanium door with a cross and mystical writings. So, of course, they want to open the door and, of course, they do. What's behind there? A vampire. What's he do? Kills people. Or does he? You'll have to see it...

"Creek" was originally called "The Unfortunate" and it's directed by Lola Wallace, starring Cassie Jaye and Aaron Leddick. Unfortunately, they should've stuck with the title "The Unfortunate" because it's tough to do any research on something called "Creek", when there's "Wolf Creek", "Blood Creek", "The Creek" and 40 other horror films with the word "Creek" in the title... anyhow, it's about a group of friends that are on their way back from a horror convention and are lured into a roadside attraction that promises them the opportunity to find gold... cursed gold that's protected by ghosts that are out for vengeance.

"Metal Man" is the directorial debut from special effects guy, Ron Karkoska. He did the effects on such classics as "The Hills Run Red", "InAlienable" and "Reeker". He also worked on the upcoming "Dahmer vs Gacy", from friend of Dead Harvey, Ford Austin. "Metal Man" stars Reggie Bannister and is, really, a mock-buster rip-off of "Iron Man" and if you're in to the campy stuff, it looks like it's a film for you. I haven't seen it, but the trailer looks great.